“It’s a tough night, but these guys have accomplished so much,” Destrehan Coach Stephen Robicheaux said. “We got beat by a really good football team tonight.”

Robicheaux huddled his team in the end zone after the game and told his players they brought “Destrehan back.”

Destrehan (12-2) advanced to the semifinals after a four-year absence from the postseason. Players, many with tear-stained faces, declined comment as they boarded buses home.

Acadiana (13-1) now meets Parkway in the Class 5A championship after the Panthers eked out a 28-27 win over Covington. The Rams, who out-rushed Destrehan 358-93, are back in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for the first time since 2010.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Acadiana Coach Ted Davidson said. “They play so hard. If you can make (Destrehan) one-dimensional, you got a chance.”

Destrehan played a big part of the first half without standout quarterback Donovan Isom. Isom helped move the ball quickly, but he took a hard hit on the end of an 11-yard run with eight minutes left in the first quarter.

He missed the rest of the first half but returned in the second half.

“He took a pretty big hit,” Robicheaux said. “He had two guys converge on him. He had a little headache there, but the doctor looked at him and he was fine. It was all in the doctor’s hands.”

Said Davidson: “Isom going down in the first quarter was big. He’s a great, great player. I think the conditions also affected them. We kept them in the wind for two quarters. And in the fourth quarter, we just kept the ball.”

Destrehan needed a rally and couldn’t get the ball in its hands.

The Rams, who led 13-7 at halftime, like to eat the clock and did plenty of it with their machine-like veer in the fourth quarter.

A 15-play drive lasted more than seven minutes. It started with 58 seconds in the third quarter and ended with an Elijah Ledet 1-yard run with 4:55 left in the game.

Isom started the second half, but Destrehan forced the ball over on downs after an intentional grounding penalty. The Rams then extended their lead to 21-7 after Donovan Soloman went 64 yards with 8:36 left in the third quarter.

Like Davidson, Robicheaux applauded Acadiana’s defense. The Rams were effective up front and especially in the secondary. The Rams limited Destrehan to 143 yards, including only 50 yards in the air.

“This is the best defense we’ve played in some time,” Robicheaux said. “Their DBs made plays all night.”

Despite the finish, Destrehan couldn’t have started better. The Wildcats forced Acadiana into three straight false starts. The Rams were forced to punt on their first drive, and Destrehan took control.

Will Matthews wasn’t in the mood to waste prime field position. On the first play after Isom’s exit, Matthews went 25 yards for the touchdown to make it 7-0 with 7:41 left in first quarter.

But Acadiana rallied quickly. The Rams scored on the next drive, but Destrehan blocked the extra point to keep a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter.